Actively being involved in public education we are able to identify many examples of ethical violations in which educators have violated the Educators Code of Ethics. Following are several ethical conflicts that have occurred in public education that has negatively impacted the reputation of public schools and educators. Standard 1.2, states that the educator shall not knowingly misappropriate, divert, or use monies, personnel, property, or equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage. A school administrator used a district’s food service department personnel, equipment, and vehicles to cater a party at his or her home is an example that violates Standard 1.2. Standard 1.10, states that the educator shall be of good moral character and be worthy to instruct or supervise the youth of this state. An administrator having and affair with another district employee while stilled married to his/her spouse that is also a district employee shows a definite moral character flaw. Standard 1.12, states the educator shall refrain from the illegal use or distribution of controlled substances and/or abuse of prescription drugs and toxic inhalants. For this example a new educator the profession is taking pills while on campus in his or her room and becoming under the influence during the school day is an abuse of a controlled substance for this district. Standard 2.2, states the educator shall not harm others by knowingly making false statements about a colleague or the school system. This example has an educator spreading erroneous information about an administrator thus damaging the reputation of the administrator and the district. Standard 2.5, states the educator shall not discriminate against or coerce a colleague on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, disability, family status, or sexual orientation. For the final example, a person less qualified is promoted above another person more qualified solely based on race. These examples show that people make many mistakes in judgment and ethical conduct that negatively impacts the public education profession. The examples cited have an adverse impact on financial issues affecting school districts.
Examining three of the examples from above of ethical conflicts, short and long-range consequences should be considered for these types of violations. For the Standard 1.2, short-range consequences should address the reimbursement of all costs involving the use of school property and personnel by the administrator. Disciplinary actions should be taken to document the violation and a report of the violation may be sent to the State Board for Educator Certification for them to investigate and place possible restrictions on the administrator’s certification. Long-range consequences are the loss of public support for the school district and administrators and a lack of confidence in district personnel. The loss of support and confidence may carry over into district personnel. The school board of trustees may lose confidence and respect in the district administrative personnel, ultimately causing them to lose employment if actions of this nature continue. The incident involving the administrator having the affair while still married has many short-range consequences for violating Standard 1.10. The direct embarrassment for the district as a result of the exposure of the administrator’s actions and the questioning and scrutiny of all employees by the public and stakeholders will be severe. The moral character of the administrator will be questioned and the effectiveness of the administrator’s ability to lead the campus is jeopardized in the long-range. Again a long-range impact will be the loss of public support in the administrator. The consideration that the administrator showed lack of moral character will lead the public to question the ability to operate the campus without adversely impacting the financial issues on the campus. The question if quality teachers want to work in a district or on a campus for administrators with severe character flaws will surface and need to be considered for the adverse affect on personnel. Finally the teacher violating Standard 1.12 by using pills during the instructional day directly impacts students and parents. The short-range immediate consequences are the reporting if such violation to SBEC and the superintendent resulting in the removal of the teacher. The long-range impact on students on what they perceive to be acceptable behavior by educators will be affected. The ability to find a highly qualified teacher to replace the one removed will be negatively affected. The loss of the teacher’s certification and the resulting police involvement with the teacher, also have long-range implications.
All superintendents should know how to act with the greatest of integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner to promote the success of all students. Preventive actions may help to avoid many ethical conduct violations. Check and balances should be in place to help prevent educators from taking advantage of their position and overstepping of their authority. The Texas Administrative Code, Educator’s Code of Ethics and school district policies are in place to provide guidance for administrative leaders. For the examples from above all school educators should be above reproach when dealing with ethical behavior. Unfortunately, many fail to live up to all of the expectations of students, parents, staff members, and stakeholders. They have lapses in judgments that create problems for districts and the public’s perception of our educational system. The action plan for Standard 1.2 involves each administrator modeling and promoting the highest standards of conduct and ethical integrity in all decision-making processes. They must follow all district policies and demonstrate a total understanding of the behavior expected of district administrators. The action plan for Standard 1.10 should include moral character and the ability of the administrator to interact appropriately with all district personnel in professional and ethical manners. The administrator’s actions should always demonstrate behaviors that support the highest standards for educator behavior. Finally for Standard 1.12, the action plan should incorporate the use of law enforcement and drug testing for employees. It is very important that administrators protect all students from possible harm from district employees. The students should be protected from both physical and emotional harm that could result from unethical behavior of educators. Having educators know the negative consequences that will occur for these types of infractions may deter them from acting in unethically in all areas of the Educators Code of Ethics.
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